Jorlen finds Hannah trying to catch a leak dripping from the ceiling. Conversation ensues on the life of a Candidate and ends with an assignment given to all.

When

It is afternoon of the nineteenth day of the third month of the fourth turn of the 12th pass.

In Southern:
It is the nineteenth day of Autumn and 81 degrees. Steely grey clouds drift across the sky, muting Rukbat's light. The wind has started to pick up more than normal as a light drizzle falls.

Where

Galleries, Southern Weyr

OOC Date

01 Mar 2015 08:00

"What is your favorite part of being a Candidate, Jorlen?"

Galleries

Stone benches rise up.. and up.. and up: grooves upon grooves show marks of their hand-hewn origins, small chips and uneven textures to tell the tale of humble beginnings in a place which looks upon the black-and-white Sands of Southern, a place of greater beginnings indeed. The Galleries take up roughly a third of the perimeter of the Sands: to the west are flat, staggered entranceways, ledges for dragons interested in watching the proceedings. Below and just easterly, a stitched-hide curtain covers the entrance to the bowl, keeping the wind away from the precious cargo often housed upon the Sands. It cannot help the shrieking of the wind above: though it is muted in this hollow, the intermittent sighs and moans of the thermals shrieking through the viewing-ledges above can be unsettling.

Timor:
Belior:

The autumn rains have set in, leaving the weyr wet and grey, and this day is set no different. A steely grey sky, the constant fall of rain, and the dribble of a leak in the galleries. Upon the sands, Dhiammarath lies coiled around her clutch, as still as pale death, but her lifemate is in the galleries trying to angle a bucket beneath a leak. It seems as if sometime between the last rainy season and this one, a leak has formed. The woman wears a grey dress, short sleeved out of deference to the roiling wave of heat that flows upwards from the white and black sands. Her pale hair is loosely braided and without heels to the shoes she wears, her scarce height is left unmodified. "C'mon…" Finally! The dribble-dribble of drippy rain lands in the bucket and Hannah steps back, hands on her hips. Of course this leak is over the plushest, most expensively appointed seats.

Jorlen wanders up into the galleries in work clothes that bear some dirt marks indicating the candidate has been busy. He looks down on the sands, taking in Dhiamarath and her clutch, taking the time to lean forward for a better look before noticing Hannah and giving a quick candidate salute, "Hello. Trying to fix the leaks? So how does she" as he points to the sands "like this kind of weather?"

"Unfortunately," Hannah's tone holds a lightness despite the tension lining her shoulders and causing her to rock back on her heels, "I am no leak fixer, but I am sure one of the stonemasons will figure out the leak an where it comes from." Or so she hopes, at any rate. Looking over her shoulder at the dragon, the Senior Weyrwoman lifts her shoulders in a brief shrug. "She's ambivalent, really. It's rain and the rain is only just beginning," the goldrider says with a slight smile. "But it brings cooler weather, so. I think so long as the rain doesn't fall on her, she's fine down there." Emerald green eyes alight on Jorlen, taking in his knot. "Candidate," she muses, "How are you liking Candidacy?" The lilt at the end of that question subtly probes for the Candidate's name.

Jorlen grins just a little bit, "Well, cooler weather will be nice." It's a few moments before he catches on, "Candidate Jorlen, also senior apprentice harper at least pending the outcome of the hatching." He looks back over the eggs, "Well, it's been interesting. Renalde doesn't exactly like teenagers yet he's in charge of a lot of us for the moment." He rubs a sore spot on his arm for a few moments. "I have a break in my chores so thought I'd come look at the eggs again."

"Sometimes I wonder what Renalde likes," Hannah lets that musing sit for a moment as she gestures for Jorlen to join her in taking a seat on one of the gallery rows. The steady plop-plop-plop of the water into the bucket adds to the overall drone of rain that fills the air around them as the skies weep. "A harper," the goldrider murmurs, turning her attention to the Candidate as she tucks herself onto the seat. "It is good to acquaint yourself with the eggs. It helps when the time comes and dragonets are on the sands. They are clumsy and have a tendency to hurt without understanding why. So young, they have not yet learned how soft and frail we are in comparison to them." Sound advice given. "Are you ready for possibly Impressing a dragon?" she asks, gently.

Jorlen takes the indicated seat. "Well, I'd say he likes ears. At least pulling me around by mine." He casts a glance up at the leak before a 'hmmm' escapes him. "There are some harper songs about hatchings of course, though vocals aren't my specialty." He gives a bit of a long look at the eggs again. "Well, I think as ready as I can be. I'm trying to get as much of my journeyman requirements done as I can. At least the performance aspect. I got them to send a really nice instrument down for me to work on." Of course he leaves out what the instrument is…

Hannah stares long at Jorlen, her expression veiled by the lashes that partially lower as she considers Renalde's tactics. "Hmmm. I see it would appear so." Letting her eyes travel past Jorlen to her lifemate down on the sands and the quiet eggs that sit and do nothing, she adds softly, "Of course it is important to keep thoughts on the craft you've chosen should you not Impress, but I should hope that you are learning more of what a dragon rider's life is like as a Candidate. The days pass quicker than you think and you may soon find yourself with a lifemate. You should have some idea of what's coming…" This is trailed off as Hannah falls prey to her own thoughts until she catches the end of Jorlan's sentence. "And what instrument do you study on, Jorlen?" Once again, the weight of her gaze is settled firmly upon the Candidate.

Jorlen smiles a bit, "Well, Renalde has been giving us some information. And we do have some classes and such with K'lir and a little jungle trip with a bunch of candidates, wasn't K'lir with us though. Of course it would be great to impress, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much you know? Be nice if mom was here, but I've gotten past that." He pauses a few moments. "I play hammer dulcimer. Got one of the best ones sent down to me. I think I'm the only player at southern."

Hannah considers Jorlen for a moment, brows drawn inward over something he says before she smoothes her expression and forms a small smile. "It is wise to not put all of your chickens into one basket. Life has such very strange ways of shaping our paths through it." She lets her attention wander briefly, murmuring, "Into the jungle, hmm? I don't think that is healthy." But she doesn't immediately forbid it as Jorlen did indicate there was a chaperone of some kind. "You would be surprised by who plays what here in Southern. It is the crafting center for those that studied their crafts in the Old-time." A glimmer of an idea has taken shape behind her eyes, but what she says is, "That sounds like a lovely instrument. I'm glad you're able to balance the Candidacy work with staying somewhat fresh with your Harper work."

Jorlen smiles a bit, "Yeah, it has a unique sound to it. I was playing some with T'lar the other day. And I did a little bit in the infirmary the other day as well." He pauses a moment. "It was a recovering rider that was with us. We were picking mushrooms. Had an interesting encounter with a wildling. He didn't really do anything though." He takes another paise, looking down at his feet before back at the sands. "I ended up down here when those at the fort realized I'm an old timer, though I did all my training after I came forward"

"An encounter with a wildling," Hannah mulls that over for a long moment, but other than a brief look of consternation, the goldrider doesn't press the point. Instead, she steers the conversation back towards Jorlen, "This Pern is so radically different from the Pern of Before, but some things will never change. Like Thread." Quietly does she consider the Candidate before asking, "What is your favorite part of being a Candidate, Jorlen?"

Jorlen frowns slightly and takes a good while before answering and fading back into a more even expression, "Well, getting a little more time with dragons and learning some more about them. Harper tales only go so far on the subject. Also get to know a lot of others that I wouldn't normally run into. The egg touching was rather unexpected, though hard to say if I liked some of the feelings come off the eggs. It was a bit strange like I said." Did Jorlen stop at just one? of course not.

"Egg touchings are … " Hannah trails off, lips curving into a brief smile. "They are an experience both wondrous and terrible, much like life is wonderful and terrible and everything in between." She considers the Candidate for a moment, before nodding her head slowly, "Harper tales are but stories. They add adventure and excitement, but real live people are something entirely different. I would encourage you, Jorlen, to get the experiences of those that ride fighting dragons to help you better understand what you have gotten into by agreeing to be a Candidate." Hannah tips her head, "Perhaps I shall ensure that all of you do a write up to deliver to the Weyrlingmaster. My own experiences cannot truly help you as my role in the wings is one you'll only ever find yourself should you get too injured to fly Thread."

Jorlen nods a bit, "Well, I've had infirmary duty a few times so I've met some injured riders and dragons. Other than that, I've been on ground crew for a couple falls. I'll have you know I was NOT the one that flamed the weyrleader's backside." That last bit gets a bit of a chuckle. "Never got up close with dragons before coming forward. Closest we came is some of our wine ended up at the weyrs."

"These are all good things to get exposed to," Hannah comments as she slowly stands up. "Cha'el's backside was flamed by someone who has reason enough to flame it," is all she says on the matter, though emerald eyes light up with the warmth of humor. "I would not poke that particular button too much, though." Caution delivered in that statement. "Renalde is a good man. He'll keep you guys safe and ready for the Hatching, but do seek out Arianne. Perhaps she can show you more of what occurs in the dragon infirmary so you can be prepared." Her eyes are pulled to the pale queen that lies so quietly on the sands. "I'd better get some things done before she awakens and wants to eat. Leaving her jaw bloody only ensures more work later. You have a good afternoon, Candidate Jorlen, okay?" This delivery comes with the quiet pull of a smile as the Senior Weyrwoman shakes out the skirt of her dress.

Jorlen nods and gives a parting salute, "I'll keep that in mind. Worth a chuckle though. I've met Arianne before I think. She distracted Renalde when I wandered into one of his work areas before I was a candidate. I should get back to some more chores myself."

"Arianne is lovely, and never no mind her dragon. He's just cranky," the Senior smiles as she takes those first steps away. "Take care," Hannah's final comment as she nods her head to Jorlen's salute and then turns to make her way out of the galleries. It is a rainy day, after all, and she needs to find a Smith to take care of the leak before the bucket overflows. Already these thoughts press into her mind as purposeful steps carry her away into the day.

An assignment, handed down through Southern's Senior Weyrwoman, has been posted in the Candidate Barracks. It's something simple, but requires a bit of research:

"Every Candidate should gather various experiences of being a dragonrider in the midst of Thread from the different fighting dragonriders of Southern. Brown, blue, bronze, green: the color of the dragon isn't important but the compilation of experiences is. Two months hence, write up in your own words what it means to be a part of Southern's dragon fighting force, and deliver it to Weyrlingmaster K'ane."

OOC: So this is really just a prompt for you guys to RP about! You don't have to actually interview someone ICly if you don't want to! You can vig about the interviews and vig about the things your character would right about, what conclusions you come to. It's really just an RP prompt to inspire (and give reason!) for you guys to seek out various Southern riders.

The delivery to K'ane is all IC, so you can just RP it's done (or not done). Of course, if you want to flood K'ane's inbox, then by all means… }:-)